This invention relates to systems and methods for personnel training and, more particularly, to supervised or self-administered computer-based training systems that incorporate a learner-constructed response based testing methodology for improved evaluation of knowledge acquisition.
A variety of systems are available for automated learning and training using computers or other personal electronic devices. In current computer mediated learning and training systems, assessment of the “knowledge” gained by the user is carried out by, for example, true/false questions, matching (paired-associate) type questions, multiple choice questions, and marking questions. A multiple choice question differs from a marking question in that a multiple choice question has one correct answer, while a marking question has multiple correct answers. The foregoing question formats are not fully effective as learning aids, not are they reliable in assessing actual knowledge, for various reasons. For example, in a true/false question, a learner has a fifty-fifty chance of answering correctly by guessing; in a four way multiple choice question, the probability of a correct answer through guessing is twenty five percent. Test results thus are not necessarily indicative of actual knowledge.
What is needed, therefore, is a methodology for use in computer based training that provides for improved learning, improved efficiency, and improved reliability in the assessment of a user's actual knowledge of subject matter.